Book of Shadows
by NightWithMoon
Summary: This is a compilation of not only all the plot bunnies and parodies that have been bothering me, but also my unique views on how magic works. I marked this as complete because each chapter is standalone. rating just in case, but I doubt it will be necessary .
1. Because this makes sense

Harry stepped into Gringotts, and moved to stand in the nearest line. When it was is turn he smiled politely to the goblin in charge and asked if he could be escorted to someone that could help him with claiming his inheritance.

the goblin gasped, eyes wide in shock, before quickly recomposing himself and escorting harry to another room with a plaque naming it 'Griphook, Potter Family Account Manager's office. Once harry was conveniently inside the office of the only goblin he knew, he took a seat in the surprisingly comfortable chair across the goblin in question. "Hello Griphook, I was hoping you would be able to help me claim my inheritance today." Harry smiled and said politely.  
>Griphook gasped like the previous goblin, "Young master wizard is remembering Griphook's name and is being polite to a goblin. Oh my god! This has never - ever happened before." The goblin said really excitedly. "Of course Mr. Potter Gringotts will of course do everything in its power to serve you."<p>

Griphook seized Harry's hand without further ado and pricked a finger so a single drop of blood fell onto a large parchment that lay prepared on the desk. Seconds passed and quickly the scroll filled up with his family tree and all possible claims he might have for the ease of the goblins so they didn't actually have to keep records or anything so normal.  
>Griphook scanned the list before gasping once more, almost fainting in shock and quickly pressing a button on the desk before calming himself.<p>

"What is it, Griphook, is something wrong." Harry asked worriedly.

"No! Never, Mr. Potter it seems you are a descendant of Merlin and the three cool founders - excluding Hufflepuff, 'cus Hufflepuff is for duffers, and Thor, and Zeus and Aphrodite, and that other really important wizard, Bob. Now that you have claimed all these accounts you are now the richest person in the world and shall never want for money." Griphook said giddily. A goblin shuffled into the room and dropped off a package before quickly leaving. "Ah! it has arrived," Griphook said happily. He unwrapped the package and pushed it across the desk toward harry, revealing in fact one ornate box and another shrunken trunk. "In the first box you shall find all the rings that signify your lordship over the various families, you need only put them on to claim them, by right of magic."

Harry eyes widened as he opened the box to reveal dozens of rings. Slowly he picked one out and put it on, watching as it glowed and resized to fit his finger. Then he picked up the next and put it on the same finger watching as the two rings quickly melded together to form a single slightly different ring. Quickly getting the gist of it Harry happily put the rest of the rings on so that they combined as well, because obviously all these past family heads would be so pleased that a single person was gaining headship and would have planned on this eventuality when making the magic of the rings. In the end he was left with a single massive ring that had elements of each and every different crest that had been on the other rings and _magically_ it managed not to look utterly cluttered and stupid. Harry smiled at this success.

Griphook smiled too, "And of course Lord Potter, now that you have claimed your Lordship you are an Emancipated minor and can do whatever you want with your hugely massive fortune because no one thinks it's a bad idea for a child to come into such a windfall without any sort of spending limit. Also you will note that you can choose to have the ring become invisible so that its presence won't overtly affect the plot and won't inform people you don't want to know that you've gained your independence and are no longer their puppet; because of course past Lords were always terribly ashamed of their Lord status and trying to hide it." He told harry, who quickly made the ring turn invisible and completely undetectable so that he could fool the evil Dumbledore of the story who had been controlling him. "Finally Lord Potter this is a trunk we have commissioned and created just for you because you're nice to us goblins and no one else has ever done that. You will find that the trunk contains roughly a gazillion compartments all the size of a lavish suite so that you shall never need for space and each has been equipped with the best appliances so that there's no need to waste the readers time with a long boring shopping trip - this way they can just assume you have all you shall ever need conveniently at your finger tips. Good luck, Lord Potter, and know that your teeny tiny show of respect for the goblin nation was such an incredible and rare thing that we have decided to become your ally and throw the full might of our complete chokehold on the wizarding economy behind you in the coming war!"


	2. The Artificer

I love Magic. I read lots of stories, not necessarily for the plot or adventure, but for the author's ideas about magic. So this will be not only a series of plot bunnies that I have come up with and haven't expounded upon, but also this will be where I explain how I believe magic should/does/could work in either these stories or in any of my other fics.

That being said I hope that everyone can find something in here that sparks their own imagination. As I said above I read for the magic, not the plot, so when I write fictions I almost always start with the magic, and then get stuck when I realize I have no plot. So if any author find an idea in here that they like, either in my explanation of magic or in the bunnies I put in here, then I hope you take that idea and turn it into something greater. (And I would really love to read it if you do, so PM or review to say so.)

Also I really want to pat myself on the back for my symbolism, but it's even better when you recognize it… So I'll tell you: Book of Shadows is a term for a type of book of magic that comes from the 'shadowy' past, but also I am including 'shadows' of stories that I hope I, or you as readers, will someday give flesh, by fleshing out the idea.

A/N This is an idea that popped into my head not more than a couple hours ago, and in combination with a lot of others that have been floating around has been the final impetus I needed to start this book. So anyone who likes this idea and wants to expound upon it (in any way) I'd love to know and wish you the best of luck

**The Artificer**

The bond pulsed in his chest, a constant burning pain. It started to throb every time he stopped working, it ached when he did something counter-productive, and it positively shredded his insides when he thought of giving up. This is what Dumbledore had reduced him to. When he had declared that he wouldn't be Dumbledore's puppet anymore, that the damned prophecy was probably already fulfilled when Voldemort had been vanquished in his childhood, Dumbledore had bound him like a slave. A variant on the house-elf enchantment, but more powerful as it hadn't had the chance to wane and settle in his descendants as it had with them. The Binding had very simple terms: To defeat Voldemort, and serve Albus Dumbledore.

Since that day nearly six years ago any moment not needed for eating, sleeping, or relieving himself was spent working towards the eventual demise of Voldemort. He had fought briefly in the beginning, but the excruciating, debilitating pain he had felt when he did had nearly broken him. Nearly.

Voldemort had spent decades preparing his first rise to power and much of that groundwork was waiting, ready to pick up, when he returned; he had spent even longer than that studying obscure magiks and teaching himself how to use them best. Voldemort was brilliant, a genius among savants even, and all of his prodigious intelligence, vast knowledge, and incredible power had been focused upon his goal of conquering the world for the majority of his long life. Harry had no chance to beat him in strength, no chance to outwit him, no chance of finding some obscure magik that would suddenly solve all his problems. Harry had no chance.

Harry had actually been rather lucky, if you can call it that, when Dumbledore gave him his first orders; Dumbledore had said nothing about making himself available for future orders, merely stating that he thought he would 'do well' to direct his efforts towards destroying Voldemort as quickly as possible. He had, of course, made certain that Harry understood those were orders and to be carried out to the best of his ability, but Harry had taken the opportunity to flee. The Bond was tied with his own blood, though he didn't know how Dumbledore had managed it, and thus the bond would last as long as either Harry lived or Harry's living blood flowed through Voldemorts veins; meaning both that Dumbledore could not actually use the bond to find him, as it wasn't anchored to him, and that should Harry make the final failure his soul would not be able to move on so long as Voldemort still lived.

It had taken a while but he had learned to manipulate the bond in little ways: he knew he was not nearly strong enough to fight Voldemort and win, so instead he worked to learn more, make himself stronger; he knew that should Dumbledore find him that he would likely give him more orders, possibly even ones that would slow or prevent him from fighting Voldemort, so he avoided Dumbledore.

In his studies he had not limited himself to just magic, in fact, using a crude time turner he had managed to make, a couple years into his exile, he had managed to attend several colleges; with the liberal use of memory charms and compulsions along with his considerable wealth from his inheritance he had managed to accumulate a great deal of knowledge on almost every aspect of human science. He had never bothered to try and get good grades, they wouldn't serve him against Voldemort.

It was truly incredible what he had been able to accomplish when his only, and constant, driving force was to destroy Voldemort.

After five years of constant study and flight Harry had finally found a possible solution. It was an ugly amalgamation of muggle technology and various and sundry other magical means that would, if all went right, not only send him back in time to a point where he would be able to prepare properly to fight Voldemort, but also it just might break the Binding. He had used the entire extent of his cunning and knowledge not only to make the machine, but also to make the bond allow him to make it; it had been incredibly tricky convincing himself that without the bond it might be possible to work better, or to find a solution the bond would never allow him to find, that therefore if the breaking of the bond might be one possible outcome of using the machine, then all the better.

But now that it was done, now that all he had to do was activate the machine to be sent back to a different time… He was afraid. He had added one other feature to the machine, a feature that truly terrified him. He had made it so that if something went wrong it would destroy his mind, body, and soul. That had been the hardest aspect to convince the bond, that if this didn't work and he was stranded or killed or even just incapacitated somehow that it would be better for him to be dead so that someone else could rise to fulfill the prophesy, as this was his last and best hope for success.

And it would give him freedom, even if it came at the price of the final death.

But his fear was irrelevant, because he had already started the machine and it now hummed around him as it collected the power it would need. It was far too late to stop. He sighed, trying to let his fears and all the other emotions that seemed to have formed a tight knot in his stomach and throat flow out of him. And then there was blinding light and pain.

(A/N The story could obviously go anywhere from here… However, I have my own idea of where it should go I just don't have the patience to write it out as if a true story. So I'll just write out the main points for anyone who's interested.)

Harry misses his temporal destination… by several millennia. So harry is not only stuck in a much less advanced world where he has no access to what tools he hopes he could use to get back to his own time, but he also still has the bond that is urging him to do something drastic to prevent Voldemort from being born (like destroying all human life, because clearly if he does anything less then time will merely find someway to prevent him from making changes… just that the bond is urging him to stop voldemort at any cost because that was never specified in his orders)… Luckily he has an idea that will permit him not only not to take such drastic action but will give him all the time he could ever want or need to prepare: He will permit himself to become a vampire (capable of weathering the millennia until his future self disappears and he is free to act without causing paradox's).

My idea of vampires is that the magic in them is changed inherently so that they are no longer capable of spells but they gain increased strength and all other physical attributes along with perfect health so long as the get the necessary sustenance and aren't injured/wounded. However, because he loses normal wizard magic he turns to his (far more advanced than those around him at the time) knowledge of both technology and magic to build things that will not only allow him to survive in a hostile world until he can kill voldemort, but also permit him to actually succeed when it comes to fighting voldemort.

Now my idea for what he does in the millennia he is waiting is that he builds magical tools/weapons/devices using runes (magic that is still available to him) that are even more advanced for his knowledge of muggle science…

Also my main idea for that was based around a cool idea I had a while ago… I'm going to try and explain it, but it might not be too clear. So good luck and please review if you know how I could say it better: So everyone knows of those glass cubes you can buy in souvenir shops that have the fuzzy 3-D pictures in them that are somehow made out of bubbles or something. Well I was thinking what if he used that idea to carve runes in three dimensions in blocks of glass that he can use within other devices or as devices…

I got it in my head the idea of having a very advanced golem like creature that has bones and vital organs made out of these glass runic computers/machines that when complete could blend into society and almost act perfectly human but when the time came could be even stronger and fiercer fighters than even the strongest vampires… (because they would have a sort of mobile wards built right into their bones and they would be utterly fearless along with being able to continue on with seemingly debilitating injuries for regular people…

So in the millennia that Harry waits he would of course invent other things and build up his army of super soldiers. (oh yeah! And he would most definitely get rid of the stupid pathetic common name of Harry :P).

Good luck if you're interested in writing this story!


	3. Halo - Stargate cross

So there are a number of Halo/Stargate crossovers, most where a single ship is displaced into a different universe and the impact they have there...

But what if they are the same universe?

Five million years ago a plague swept across the Milky way galaxy, the Alterans, helpless to stop it create and fire the Dakara device - a machine that uses the stargates seeded throughout the galaxy to propagate an energy wave throughout space that destroys life.

The few uninfected Alterans flee to the Pegasus galaxy before the galaxy, leaving Earth to be reseeded with life similar in form to themselves - Humans.

One million years ago Precursors arrive in the Milky way and find the stargates, what they see as a destructive influence on lesser species developments, and so they collect the stargates and allow the galaxy to evolve in a more natural progression, in accordance with their desires.

One-hundred-thousand years ago Humanity is a galactic power along with their San'Shyum allies - however, their heavy handed and desperate handling of the Flood threat has earned them enemies of the Forerunners, an equally (if not more) advanced and more numerous force. War ensues and when the Forerunners are victorious they devolve humans and leave them stranded hunter gatherers on their home planet. Humans as a last vengeance destroy the cure they developed for the flood.

When once again the flood become a threat the humans and San'Shyum are no longer there to face it and the Forerunners are slowly losing. A device is discovered that proves more effective in destroying the flood than any other, however, the device destroys indiscriminately leaving nothing biological living. In their study of the Dakara device the can find no way of targeting the living flood without destroying all other biological systems. They scale up the device - the original Dakara device being incapable of effecting a large enough region without the stargates. The Halo array is created and when defeat is assured, fired. Once more destroying all life in the galaxy. Seed ships set out from the Ark to reseed the galaxy with the life the Forerunners were forced to take...

Or at least that's what would have happened if one LifeWorker of the Forerunner hadn't discovered something odd about one of the species being catalogued for the reseeding.

It was a small aquatic life form, though possessing minimal cognitive function of its own, or really anything seemingly noteworthy at first glance, the genetics catch her attention - there is something about it that seems artificial. This Forerunner has discovered the Cure, thought destroyed by the humans, but really only hidden. This Forerunner has discovered the Goa' uld.

**(I mean if you really think about it, here's an organism that wraps around your spinal cord and gives you an incredible ability to heal, a longer life span, and better memory - it's even a well known fact of the stargate universe that the goa'uld are very well suited to taking humans as hosts - what if that was by design? what if humans designed them to protect them from the flood?) - (when you think about it, goa'uld are small animals with tiny brains, while genetic memory is well and good you can't actually think with genetic memory, only remember - so it seems entirely possible to me that the original goa'uld didn't have personalities or anything of the sort, but that that developed over the 85,000 years between the firing of the halo array and the stargate story... after all when symbiotically matching up with hundreds if not thousands of animals and unas, one must build up an immense repository of genetic memory that could easily overwhelm the lesser experiences of a short lived species)**

Anyway in this story the Forerunners discovered the Cure and with their own incredible sciences were able to adapt it to their own physiology, almost immediately there is a turning of the tides in the unending battle against the Flood. Slowly but surely the flood are pushed back and quarantined - a single halo firing, reaching only three percent of the galaxy, but destroying the final dregs of the Flood - including thousands of ships who were attempting to flee the galaxy entirely and were already thousands of lightyears into the galactic void.

The Forerunners, greatly weakened, but triumphant begin to recover...

A/N the story can go almost anywhere from here... however, I imagine that the Alterans aren't such pussies as they are in stargate and put down the wraith like the insects they are... eventually a number of Alterrans decide to return to the milky way to see what has become of it - expecting that by now the humans will have matured into a powerful spacefaring empire... they're horrified by the crimes the Forerunners have committed against the humans (their legacy) and by the brutish and heavy handed way they rule the galaxy. The alterrans return to pegasus and tell their fellows of the news and...

Well honestly what do you expect - war! in this war it will be the Massive empire of the Forerunners - trillions strong with incredible industrial might (after all these are the beings who build planets in their spare time)

Against the Alterrans a smaller group of only a few billion, who enjoy and understated elegance to their technology, subtle but incredibly powerful - the Alterrans will have the technological edge even if not huge. however, Alterrans never fight infantry and will be completely over run in any sort of ground conflict against the Forerunners...

Anyway that's the idea for the story.


	4. The Sun's Battle

A/N Wow, I was looking through some documents on my computer and found this - I wrote it years and years ago and completely forgot - but I really like the creation myth so I'm sharing it - maybe if enough people show interest I'll think of actually writing the story

The Sun's Battle

Prologue

In the beginning there was the Anon. She looked around herself at the expanse of nothing and knew not contentment. So she gathered upon herself, her strength and her will, and let forth everything. From Anon flowed matter and energy, light and darkness, creation and destruction; for everything she let loose in the universe had an opposite. And when she was utterly spent and saw her universe filled with all she had made she was content. But it did not last for Anon was lonely, so to her greatest children she gave intelligence and thus the stars gained dreams and wills, and the worlds gained strength and endurance, and her darkest children gained a ravenous hunger, and even in its imperfection Anon was again content.

Thus in this way time passed only measured in the comings and goings of the children and grandchildren of Anon and there was no change, though nothing was constant, and all were content. The stars who lit the sky, though they could not light it all, the planets who danced among the stars and filled the universe, though they could not fill it all, and the black holes who hoarded what they could, though they could not hoard it all were content.

Then one daughter of Anon was born, small among her brothers and sisters and far from her mother's influence and was not content, for none of it was hers. So Alaia gathered her light and heat and sent it down to Gaia her favorite daughter, and made upon the surface of Gaia life. And Alaia was content, for Gaia grew green and lush and all seemed well.

But Alaia neglected her duty, she had sent all her light and strength only to Gaia and her other children grew dark. There existed upon their surfaces something that should not, something that grew, something that knew only hatred and ignorance; Shadow. It grew atop their crusts, and sank into their cores and the planets grew cold with hatred or hot with fury. For the first time something was made and knew no contentment; it never rested always striving for something, though it knew not what. Eventually Shadow found Gaia and found too that it could not grow, for Alaia lit all its surface. So Shadow tried to slip under the crust of Gaia and corrupt her, but Gaia was content and Shadow could not enter. So Shadow tried to enter the living things upon Gaia, but again found them content and could not enter. Finally Shadow slipped into the darkness that was beneath the living things but above Gaia, for darkness was Shadow's friend and Shadow grew strong there. But still it was not content.

So Shadow brought forth its own creation, meant to destroy and corrupt, and upon the surface of Gaia and within her depths moved creatures that consumed Alaia's plants. But Alaia saw Shadow's influence and sent into its creations love and contentment and the animals of Gaia became hers, for while they consumed pure contentment Shadow could not live in them.

Again Shadow found no contentment and brought forth on Gaia creatures that ate only the animals. Again Alaia tried to bring contentment even to these beasts, but found them unreceptive to her light, for Shadow lived within them, and the animals they ate were already touched by Shadow and she could not bring pure contentment to them.

Finally fearing for Gaia and her plants Alaia called out to Anon and begged aid. Anon refused saying only that Shadow was born from Alaia's action and she alone must deal with her child. Alaia seeing her folly sent her light out to all her children, but it was too late for Shadow had them and no matter what Alaia could only light half their surface. With the spreading of her will and strength so too did half of Gaia go dark. So Alaia set the moon in the sky to reflect her light upon Gaia, but it was not enough. Shadow spread across the surface of Gaia, and Alaia wept with Gaia as the plants died where light could not reach them.

Alaia reached out to her children and begged them to change their dance, and though some were still hot with anger and some cold with discontent they could not deny her, so the planets spun, and it was that Alaia would light them all for a day but night would always follow when Shadow had its way.

The plants learned to live with less light and throughout her children balances were made, and though none now were fully content, only Shadow knew none.

Again Alaia called out to Anon, and again Anon denied her. Although her brothers also turned their backs to Alaia, her sisters took pity upon her and sent to her planets light to sparkle in the night and give hope for the coming day, though they dared not do more.

Qet spooned the soupy broth into his mouth and the normally flavorful soup tasted like ash in his mouth. As of this morning he had turned seven; that meant he must prove himself today.

For the past months Qet had looked to this day with barely contained joy and expectation. The full import of the day fin

Qet took a deep breath, looked up across the pit to his opponent and gasped, it was AnQiTor. A ten year old with the rank of Student Master already; the next youngest Student Master was DeForTe at the age of fifteen. It was said that AnQiTor had defeated a Grand Master and had taken his Siel making him stronger than any but The First.

Qet shut his eyes convulsively and opened them again. Nothing had changed. He took deep breaths trying to relax. He knew the rumors couldn't possibly be true, but all the same AnQiTor must have had a Siel strength at least three times his own and on top of that he was three years older. It just wasn't fair. No one could possibly expect Qet to win, how then was he supposed to pass his Trial?

Maybe I'm not supposed to win. Maybe it isn't necessary to win to pass? Could it be some lesson one must learn before becoming a student? That your opponent will always be greater?

It was no hope. Even if AnQiTor hadn't beaten a master, Qet knew that he had not lost a contest in years, at the very least.

So how could a seven year old child on his Trial possibly defeat him? The question was perfect, for everyone knew the answer, especially AnQiTor.

"Begin." The voice surprised Qet, while his mind had been racing he had lost track of time. He now numbly stepped onto the platform as AnQiTor did the same. If he fought how everyone expected him to the battle would be over too soon. Far too soon.

So instead he placed a look of terror on his face, surprised at how easily it came to his features. He allowed AnQiTor to take in his fear, then turned to face the master behind him.

Forcing his voice into the wheedle of a complaining child, he exclaimed to the master, "But IT"S NOT FAAIRR." Despite facing the master, Qet barely saw him, instead allowing all of his Siels to flow from his entire body to his mind and ears; he had to hear AnQiTor coming and he still had to figure out what he was going to do when he showed up.

There it was. The quietest of snicks as AnQiTor took advantage of the perceived distraction of his opponent and leapt for the winning blow. Qet took even the strength that normally fed from his Siel to his senses and directed it totally and completely towards speed. Whipping around Qet dodged to the side as AnQiTor ripped through the air. AnQiTor's kick, which he had expected to connect firmly with Qet's unsuspecting back, met only air. The absence of a stabilizer was enough to throw him off and as he passed, still several feet above the ground, Qet saw an opening and lashed out with his left hand. His body numb from the lack of Siel, all of it flowing to inhuman speed, he barely felt as his fist connected and his wrist shattered.

AnQiTor landed roughly, but despite stumbling he kept his feet. His momentum carried him one more step before he faltered, screamed, and fell.

The room, which must have just settled a few minutes before erupted with action. The first to reach AnQiTor was his tutor, Grand Master AllorrinDedorun, who, despite the muffled moans and yelps from his student turned him over and lifted his shirt to survey the damage. Despite the fact that the blow had landed only seconds before AnQiTor's side now sported a deep blackish purple splotch along with a thickening stream of red where the broken rib protruded.

Qet gasped and looked down at his own hand. He looked away quickly, gagging at what he had seen. Instead he looked back towards AnQiTor, the Grand Master, and the crowd that had been forming around them. AnQiTor's master had now cupped his hands around the wound and had closed his eyes with a look of great concentration coming over him. A soft glow peaked from between his fingers, reminiscent of Qai, morning sun fresh for battle. When Master AllorrinDedorun finally removed his hands the skin beneath them was smooth and perfect, all signs of the injury gone, and AnQiTor's expression was now one of relieved exhaustion.

Qet stood waiting, channeling all of his Siel away from sense of touch and feel, for he knew the moment he allowed sensation to return to his body he would be wracked by screams at least as great as AnQiTor's. Instead he allowed his Siel to flow to his mind bolstering his mind.

AnQiTor stood slowly then faced his Master, something only the two of them understood passed between them. AnQiTor bowed deeply to his master and Grand Master AllorrinDedorun bowed back, had Qet not known better he would have said he looked almost sad. When AnQiTor raised his head he turned his back to his master and came to stand before Qet. He bowed again, just as low for Qet as he had for his master.

AnQiTor said with a face completely devoid of emotion and in a monotone. "The strength of my body has failed, the strength of my mind has failed I am unworthy of the Sun's gifts. Will you, the greater warrior and student, take my shame, take my strength, and accept the blessing of the sun through me."

The full import of his victory came crashing down upon Qet. The defeat of someone so far below AnQiTor would give him great unji, shame. So great that only the ritualistic passing of one's strength and being renamed could alleviate it. By winning Qet had condemned AnQiTor to either give up his strength and live forever as an underclass farmer, or to live forever disrespected for his shame.

Now Qet wished he had fought and lost fairly instead of resorting to trickery, for it would have engendered no shame for him to have lost when clearly he had never been expected to win. AnQiTor had always been kind to the children and Qet had always looked up to him for his achievements. Now because of his trickery AnQiTor was destroyed.

The silence stretched and Qet knew he must speak. Still he was silent.

Finally a solution occurred to him and his heart soared and raced with hope. "AnQiTor, Student Master and great student, how did I defeat you?"

The room paused; it was not the response they had expected, even AnQiTor's face showed surprise. "My mind failed to perceive the deception and thus I failed the Sun's Blessing."

"Do you now know to expect deception and trickery even from those you would never expect it of?" Could it work? Could he truly free AnQiTor of his shame?

AnQiTor's face again showed emotion, this time as confusion, "I do now know."

Qet barely able to conceal the triumph he felt quoted The Sun's War, "Then would you have me steal from you the strength which I have bestowed upon you?"

Murmurs broke out around the room, for every man, woman, and child knew that line by heart. Qet had given AnQiTor a choice: he could play out the scene to its end and be free of his shame, or he could demand his shame was too great and still relinquish his strength.

Qet watched as this occurred first to the elders in the back then to the others around the room, and finally saw hope bloom across AnQiTor's face as he too realized what Qet had given him.

AnQiTor seized Qet's unbroken right arm in a firm grasp at the elbow and strained. Even though, with his Siel so depleted that he barely had the strength to lift his arm and grasp AnQiTor in return and with the battle so fast that AnQiTor himself must have been still fresh, he faked the strain of a great test of wills and strength. Finally he relinquished his grasp, allowing Qet's arm to flop to his side barely concealed.

"I find your strength great and your will undiminished, I fear not that the Sun shall lose you without my strength." AnQiTor finished, then he smiled. Qet allowed a broad grin to spread across his own features now that the scene was complete.

Qet had just gained a powerful ally, and, if he was lucky, a friend.


	5. Harry Potter - Riddick cross

Darkness Rising

Lilly Potty laid Harry down in his crib, tucking the blankets around him and watching as he breathed slowly and smoothly in the deep embrace of sleep. She loved her son. More than anything she loved her son, and because of that she would never let him come to harm if she could help it.

As she stepped back to head downstairs to James her gaze drifted across the two runic ritual circles concealed in the room. One directly above Harry on the ceiling and one directly in front of the crib on the floor, both covered by a powerful glamour that only she, as the caster, could see through.

She wasn't the youngest Charms Mistress in a decade, the brightest witch of her generation, and an unspeakable for nothing after all. When Dumbledore had come to them with the news of the prophecy that could spell certain doom for her child she had spared nothing in her quest to see him safe.

These two rituals were her last resorts, the one on the ceiling preferable to the one on the floor, but if she didn't have enough time to use it, she wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice her life to use the second.

She smiled down at little Harry one last time, the sight of his face beautiful and peaceful was more than enough to reaffirm her resolve to see him a happy and healthy adult, a wife and family of his own, by any means necessary.

Closing the door softly she was on the top step of the stairs when she felt the Fidelius shudder, an agonizing feeling to her as it was hers and her husband's Trust in Peter that fueled and maintained it. The feeling of the ward falling was very literally the feeling of torn Trust on a magical level that could leave them psychologically damaged if left untreated.

She swayed on her feet, barely holding herself up, the moment of weakness stealing from her what could have been her only chance to grab Harry and flee, as she felt powerful wards snap into place around the house, sealing them in to their fate.

"Lily, take harry and go! It's Him! I'll try and hold him off - just go!" James shouted from the den.

She hesitated for a moment, wanting to stand by James' side, but Harry came first, their child came first. She flung herself into little Harry's nursery and slammed the door behind her, she didn't have time to be quiet. She could feel to oppressive and illusive weight of anti-apparition wards and the sharp tingle of anti-portkey wards along with a humming angry strength in the outer walls of the house that didn't belong and wouldn't let her pass. She was trapped. Harry was trapped.

But there were other ways, she thought as she gazed upon the runic arrays. With one last glance over her shoulder, the sound of a fierce battle taking place below reassured that James yet lived and she still had time.

She stepped up to the edge of the circle on the floor, making certain she wasn't within its limits. Her eyes caught Harry's, her fear mirrored there in those same green eyes. Lilly smiled tremulously down at Harry, whispering almost inaudibly, "Don't fear, my child. Never fear, I won't let anyone touch you."

Lilly tore her eyes away from Harry's and focused on the ritual array in the ceiling, raising her wand and beginning to cast. She focused her magic and her will on the need to protect her child. This ritual was meant to transport a mother's child to another mother who could serve his he needs; created hundreds of years ago by a French queen who was dying and knew that after she died her infant child would be killed long before he could reach the age of majority to take the crown, this ritual was meant to find the perfect mother for any child that could no longer be protected by its own. It was just what she needed.

She focused on her need for the mother the be beyond the reach of Voldemort's magic, she focused on her need for the mother to be strong enough that she couldn't die and leave Harry once more without protection, on the need to be able to provide for Harry, on the need for her to never turn away from Harry -

The door behind her was blaster open and she spun, wand raised, terrified. The ritual wasn't complete. She hadn't had enough time! She steeled herself and took a single deliberate step backward, placing herself directly in the center of the ritual circle on the floor. If she didn't have time to complete the first ritual, then she would have to settle for the second - though, even with the rituals protection, she could hardly expect Harry to survive completely unscathed. This ritual would take her offer of her own soul and magic to protect her son; it would capture both as she was killed and wrap the protectively around her infant child and ensure nothing could harm him.

She stood tall before Voldemort, not allowing his sinister magic or hideous and terrifying visage to affect her. "You'll never have my son."

He sneered snapping his wand forward in a vicious stabbed the words "Avada Kedavra" clear and dooming.

A green flash of light and Lilly Potter's body crumpled to the ground, lifeless and soulless.

-o0O0o-

Lilly had expected a brief momentarily excruciating pain and then nothing as her soul and magic were directed to protect her child. That wasn't what happened though. Instead there was a sudden and disorientating lack of sensation, one moment she was standing facing Voldemort, and overwhelming sickly green light filling her vision and the next she could no longer feel the perspiration on her palms or the frantic beating of her heart, she could no longer see Voldemort or the light of the Killing Curse, she could no longer hear her labored breaths or the distant crackling of flames somewhere in the house, she could no longer taste the bitter tang of bile at the back of her throat, or smell the baby powder and oils the nursery usually smelt of.

In an instant she was stripped of every sense and sensation of her body and left only with the vague sensations of the magic around her. She could feel her own magic wrapped tightly around the pure and untamed magic of her son, she could feel the hideous, poisoned, and sickly magic of the Dark Lord, and she could feel the tightly leashed and channeled power of the ritual on the ceiling just waiting to be released.

_Waiting to be released._ She hadn't had time to finish the ritual, but she had completed the most important parts, it would take Harry away from Voldemort, take him to safety. So without hesitation her own magic reached up and snapped the leash that held the rituals magic quiescent.

In a single moment of overwhelming rushing magic Harry Potter along with the intangible and bodiless Lilly Potter vanished from Godric's Hollow.

Maybe if she had been able to finish the ritual properly it wouldn't have happened. Maybe if she'd known what would have happened before performing the ritual she would have found a different way to go about it. As it was there was only an instant of blinding disorientation before the ambient magic of the world around her changed and she felt they had reached their destination.

The magic in this place was wild and weak, not the deep currents she was used to feeling when she meditated at home, this felt fresh and young in a way she hadn't ever felt in Britain. Perhaps they were in the America's? She couldn't be sure.

It wasn't long before she felt the approach of something living, it was hard to tell without her eyes but it didn't feel very strong magically, certainly not enough to cast spells, but the magic it did have felt sharp and aggressive.

There was a moment of terrifying clarity in the moment that followed in which Lily was certain the creature, whatever it was for it certainly couldn't be human, was going to kill her child. Not if she had anything to say about it. She lashed out.

It was so much harder than it used to be, when she had a wand and a body, now that all she had left was her magic she would have expected manipulating it to become easier, but it seemed the opposite was true. Still her magic crashed against the creature in a great wave, lacking the precision and finesse a wand might have had, but strong enough to crush any thoughts of easy prey in the creature. Or at least it should have.

Instead the creature ate her magic.

It wasn't like anything she had ever heard of, or seen before, but the tiny spark of magic in the creature surged forth and - tainted was the only word for it - her own magic, and suddenly it wasn't her magic anymore.

The creature barely even paused in its advance as this happened, continuing until it must have been crouched just over Harry's tiny body. Death didn't come instantly, instead even as Lily was paralyzed by horror the creature seemed merely to be inspecting the child. Its now significantly more powerful magic, becoming less and less like Lily's every second, washed forth to taste at them. Lily tried shying as far away from the creatures magic stealing power as possible, but tethered and powerless as she was she couldn't escape. This time when their magic met the creature it didn't take it, and in fact she could feel that the magic washing against her was still hers in some indefinable way and that it was just as dedicated to protecting her child as she had ever been. For a long moment she didn't realize what this meant until she felt the creature shift and curl tightly and protectively around Harry's little body.

If she had known what would happened, maybe she would have found a way to specify the mother she wanted to send her child to should be human. Maybe she would have found a way to specify that the ritual should find a place on Earth beyond the reach of Voldemort's magic.

Then again maybe she wouldn't have. Maybe there wouldn't have been a place Harry could be safe on Earth. She would never find out what could have been had she not activated the ritual.

A/N Okay, so this was initially going to be a Harry Potter/Riddick crossover, where the ritual Lily used sent harry to whatever that planet was where it was day for 22 years then a solar eclipse and the wee beasties came out to play. My idea was that Harry ended up on this planet about five thousand years prior to events of the movie and is taken in by the creatures under the ground as they form a sort of symbiotic relationship where they feed on his magic and in return they protect him so that he'll still be around to produce more magic for them to feed on. Eventually as he grows up he would learn to communicate with the remnants of his mother's magic and soul that remain and she would begin to teach him of his past and whatnot. eventually I figure without a body to produce more magic Lily would fade and, when she eventually runs out of magic, the tether that keeps her soul tied to her son would fade and she would move on (this would have happened when she used all her magic to try and block the killing curse in the story) - I figure harry would be about twentyish at that time (as lily would be very careful to conserve her magic as much as possible.

eventually the exchange of magic between harry and the creatures would become more and more two way - harry would start gaining magic more and more like their own. I figure the creatures are biologically immortal it's just starvation, disease, and injury that can kill them and harry would gain this from their magic. From him (at least the ones who feed on his magic the most and the successive generations of creatures that feed on his magic) would start to get smarter and a little less violent.

Eventually There would come a time when Harry notices that the life on the surface of the planet is having a harder and harder time recovering from their feeding frenzies every 22 years (maybe we can have that it was originally closer to fifty years and that the way the orbits work they were getting closer and closer over time) anyway harry notices this and knows that if they ever cross the breaking point and kill all life on the surface that the raptors (I can't remember the name their given in the movies) would suffer too, so he set about culling weak from the population of the raptors in between eclipses so that there are fewer when it comes time to come to the surface. Eventually Harry using the more intelligent raptors that have fed on his magic for the most generations and are nearest him will set up a sort of hierarchy underground with them at the top and they'll maintain order and balance - it won't be a government or anything like that - more like a very large extended pride with him as the alpha male...

Anyway this means that when it comes time for the Hunter Gratzner to crash land on the planet, they'll crash on a lush grassy planet (We saw the massive creatures bones in the movie, so it can't have been that long since there was life on the surface - and any creature of that size would need a sizable food source and lands to roam. - also there'd probably be some sort of creature that would use bioluminescence and sunlight to hunt the raptors during the daylight years - living on the surface and going underground just to hunt...) Anyway so they land on a living planet with no clue what's under the surface, just that almost every animal on this planet is an apex predator in some way shape or form. And of course being so near to the time of night their presence on the surface would catch harry's attention... From there the story could go almost anywhere - could be slash could just be adventure... I figure the necro's lord marshal is really just someone possessed by a horcrux of Voldemort - since Harry wasn't there to fight him and Lily didn't reflect his curse, Voldemort left godric's hollow victorious that night...


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